Hero: From Enemy Blood
by natashatothemoon
Summary: Draco Malfoy finds out he has a half-sister the summer before his seventh year. The events that follow will change the lives of five students forever. G/D, LunaxBlaise, more pairings revealed as the story goes on.
1. The Girl

Hero: From Enemy Blood.

A Harry Potter FanFiction

Hey guys, new story! The other one is dunzo. Anyone can have it. This one is gonna be good! Review please!

Disclaimer: (insert the usual un-witty disclaimer here).

Chapter one: The Girl

"You can't be serious," said a very shocked Draco Malfoy as he looked the girl, (who looked nothing like him), up and down wondering she could possibly be his sister. She was so…un-Malfoy-ish; it was weird to think that they had the same last name.

"Well I don't believe it either," said Lucius Malfoy, wearing the same expression as his son.

Nacarissa Malfoy was wearing a shocked expression as she looked from the letter in her hands to the 16-year-old girl standing in the foyer of the Malfoy Manor; a small suitcase in her hands.

Draco's stomach churned as he finally caught on. "Father, if you didn't know she existed, then who _is_ the father?" It was weird to think of his mother cheating on his father.

Nacarissa didn't look at her husband, or at her son, but instead looked at her daughter and stammered, "I…I didn't know him," her voice cracked, "I was drunk." Nacarissa's voice growing steadily softer as tears started to overflow in her eyes.

"Oh god," said Lucius as he leaned harder on his cane. "Well then why isn't she with her father?"

Nacarissa was about to answer when the girl spoke.

"He's dead," she said, not the slightest bit sadness or sorrow in her voice as she looked around at all the paintings hanging in the foyer. Everyone looked at her, for this was the first time she said anything throughout the entire conversation. "Heart attack," she shrugged as she turned her head to them, then back to the painting she had been looking at.

"You don't have any other relatives, or

—he gulped—siblings?" Draco asked her.

"My aunt, but she doesn't have the money to care for me. So, save you, I don't have anyone. But that's fine with me everyone on my dad's side is so rude and boring. And they suck when it comes to raising children. Oh, this painting is simply stunning!"

After an awkward silence Nacarissa spoke. "What did he name you?" she whispered, barely audible.

"I'm sorry?" the girl asked turning toward Nacarissa.

"What did he name you?" Nacarissa asked in a distant tone, as if she was afraid to hear the answer.

"Melody. Melody Malfoy." Then seeing the confused look on Draco's face added "My father wanted me to have my mother's last name. Said he wanted me to have a last name that wasn't disgraced by scum."

Lucius mumbled something that got him a slap in the arm and a glare from his wife.

"Lucius, maybe we should continue this discussion in the kitchen. Draco, be a dear and show Melody to the den and entertain her for a while, will you?" said Nacarissa as she and her husband went into the kitchen and closed the heavy wood door behind her.

As soon as the door shut Melody went inside her suitcase and pulled out a small red change purse. She opened it up and pulled out a pair of extendable ears. Walking quietly to the door she very discreetly slid one end of the extendable ears under the door. Melody walked back the where Draco was standing and looked at him expectantly. When all he did was give her a blank stare she rolled her eyes and said "The den? You were supposed to show me to the den?"

"Oh, yeah, right this way." He said leading her through a doorway on her right into an elegantly decorated room with two dark green leather armchairs and a huge black couch that could sit fifteen people. Melody plopped into an armchair on her left and Draco took a seat across from her on the couch. She held up the other end of the extendable ear and whispered something Draco didn't catch. The string split into two and Melody soundlessly handed him one end and put the other in her own ear.

"She can't stay here Nacarissa!" shouted Lucius.

"Well we send her out in the streets…No! Lucius! I can't believe you would even think that! She's my daughter and I'm the only family she's got left. It's not like we don't have the space, and money isn't a problem, so why not? The letter her aunt wrote said she spent 5 years at Bouxbatons, so we can just enroll her at Hogwarts. I'll find a way make it work. But I'm not just going to abandon her and forget she existed!"

Silence.

Melody took her end out of her ear and Draco followed suit. She held up her hand and the other end flew into her hand. She wrapped the string up with a rubber band and put it back in her change purse.

"Where's your wand?" Draco asked. She didn't even seem to have one, but yet she could do spells.

"A wand? Why would I need that for something as simple as a summoning charm?" Then her expression changed from amusement to worry as she said,"Why? Can most witches and wizards not do that?"

"Oh, yeah, we learn that stuff before we learn how to fly a broom," Draco said like he actually knew what he was talking about. But the truth was Draco didn't know if that was normal because he couldn't do it.

Melody seemed to know this but simply raised an eyebrow and didn't press the matter further. Instead she said "Ooh, I love flying!" she told him gazing out the window. "When I lived with my father, I used to take his broom down from the shelf and ride it when he wasn't home. He didn't allow me to fly, or do much of anything really. Repeatedly told me he'd wanted a son, not a daughter, and that I wasn't to pretend I was. He said that only men should play sports, and that women should stick to cooking and cleaning. He was completely wrong of course." Melody said sneaking a side glance at Draco.

"I agree," said Draco. "With you, not your father." he added when her eyes narrowed.

She smiled at him just as her mother and Lucius walked into the room.

"Melody dear, grab your bag, I'll show you to your room." said Nacarissa sounding exhausted as she made her way to the bottom of the steps and waited for Melody to catch up.

Draco could see Melody try to hide the smile that was slowly creeping onto her face as she nodded at Draco as grabbed her suitcase, thanked Lucius, and followed her mother up the stairs to the room she was staying in. _Her_ room. Melody could hardly believe her luck. When she was all unpacked Melody got on a pair of shorts and a tee-shirt and climbed into bed. Knowing that she was here, she was safe, and no one knew her secret was enough lull herself to sleep.

--

The end of chapter one! Review!


	2. Rumors

Hero: From Enemy Blood.

A Harry Potter FanFiction

Here's chapter two! Review please! I think I want to make this one about nine or ten chapters. Long chapters, of course. But that is a lot of work…eight. Probably eight chapters.

Disclaimer: (insert the usual un-witty disclaimer here).

Chapter Two: The Rumor

For the next month all Melody did was eat, sleep, and hang out with Draco. He told her all about his life, school, his friends, and most of all who _weren't_ his friends.

"First off, there's Potter—I'm sure you've heard of him—Weasley, and Granger. Then there's—"

"Who're they?" Melody cut him off.

"They…do you really not know?" This was a first for Draco.

"If I knew, why would I ask you?"

"Er…right. Well, all three of them (mostly Potter) defeated Lord Voldemort, and are all too happy that they are getting all this attention for it."

"Was this Lord Voldemort person evil?" Melody asked, now curious.

"Yes…? (Melody, it doesn't matter where you grew up, you had to have heard _something_ about Lord Voldemort.)" And he told her everything that had happened the last few years.

"Uh…oh! Right, _that_ Lord Voldemort." she lied, praying Draco would buy it. "Anyway, if he was evil, isn't it a good thing they defeated him? I should think it would be heroic."

"It's just…it's not like that. You wouldn't understand." Draco said, not looking at her anymore.

"Try me." Melody crossed her arms.

Draco sighed and put his book down again. "How do I know I can trust you?"

Melody thought about this for a while. "Because I'm your sister."

"Okay, well I suppose that's sufficient. It's because my Father was a Death Eater, (That's what Lord Voldemort called his followers) and so was I." Draco swallowed, "it runs in our family; there was no escaping it."

"That's awful…" Melody looked Draco in the eyes, and something clicked. "So that's why you don't like them; because you and your family were Voldemort's followers! But even so…then why do you _still_ not like him? I mean, for Voldemort's dead, wouldn't you and your family moved on?"

"See, I knew you wouldn't understand." Draco said, turning his attention back to his book.

"Explain to me how that doesn't make sense, Draco! Because to me and every other logical person on this planet, I think it does! And stop talking to me like I'm a child; I'm not daft and I can understand things you don't even know Draco Malfoy. If you would take your mind off your own life for a minute you would realize that some people have had it harder than you!" Melody told him furiously, seeing as her own life hadn't been a picnic either.

"What are you trying to say?" Draco challenged her as he got up and looked down at her.

"I'm saying look around you, Draco! Not everyone lives like you! Not everyone has big houses, and money for food, and supplies for school! And what about the people whose families were killed by Voldemort, hmm? What about the kids who are living on the streets because their parents and sisters and brothers were murdered? What about them?" Melody took a deep breath and said in a softer tone, "I'm not saying you should go and fix everything. I'm saying you should be _aware_ of it. Know it exists. Know that you're not the only one who's led a suck life." she said, poking him in the chest.

Draco looked at his feet. "Sorry."

"It's okay. You didn't know. But now you do, so you won't have any excuses no more." she smiled a bit. "And besides, I know that you only think like that because of your father." Melody told him as she gathered up all of her things.

"Wait," Draco said blocked the doorway with his arm, "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, you feel that if you're exactly like him, he can't scold you for anything, because he's the same way."

"What? That's absurd." he said, rolling his eyes.

"Whatever. You'll realize I was right one day. Until then you might wanna look into that." she winked then snaked under his arm walked gracefully up the stairs to her room, leaving Draco to his thoughts.

--

Platform 93/4 was amiss with the usual noise of cheerful goodbyes, "and see you soon!" as Melody and Draco walked into the station. Ever since that conversation between them, their relationship had become unshakeable because they now both had an understanding of the other's situation.

The first thing Melody noticed was a boy, about her age, surrounded by reporters and people, trying to make his way onto the train.

"Who's that?" she asked Draco

His face fell. "That's him, Harry Potter."

"Oh, so that's him. He's kinda…his eyes are green," she quickly changed her sentence, seeing the look on Draco's face. "I'm kidding! Honest," she said laughing at how red he got.

"Shut up," he said a slight smile forming on his face.

"I'm sorry," she gave him the puppy dog pout.

"Oh, come on!" he said linking arms with her as she laughed again.

Now, when the Slytherin girls saw this they gave dirty looks to Melody when Draco wasn't looking, for they did not know that she was his sister.

"Why are they looking at me like that?" Melody whispered to him as they passed another angry group of girls.

"They think you're my girlfriend," he chuckled. "They're so pathetic!"

Melody threw her head back and laughed as they boarded the train, the angry girls close behind.

--

The minute Harry had walked onto Platform 93/4; he was bombarded photographers and people. He lost Ron and Hermione in the crowd, and when he finally got out, he saw them waiting patiently off to the side.

"Guess what I just heard," Ron said to Harry as soon as he reached them.

"What?"

"Well, I overheard—"

"Eh hem?" Hermione looked at him.

"Okay, Hermione overheard, these two Slytherin girls talking about Malfoy, and they said he's got a new girlfriend, someone none of them had ever seen before." he said.

"Really? Interesting…did you happen to hear her name, or something?" Harry asked Hermione.

"Nope. None of them knew anything about her," she said.

"Weird. But whatever. Knowing Malfoy it's probably another Pansy." he laughed as the whistle blew and they all hurried onto the train.

--

That's it! Review please!


	3. School

Hero: From Enemy Blood.

A Harry Potter FanFiction

Here's chapter three! I wish I had a secretary or something because these chapters I'm writing just keep getting longer and longer, but I'm broke as my dad's jokes, so that's out of the question. Anyway enjoy the new chapter! Sorry this is so late, Colorguard has some hectic scheduling. This chapter was so much fun to write because I did it over aim with my friend Holly, and I got the idea for people mistaking Draco & Melody for a couple from her because, when she first moved to Texas, that's what happened to her. So anyway, on with the chapter!

Disclaimer: (insert the usual un-witty disclaimer here).

Chapter Three: The School

As Harry pushed his way to the snack cart, he saw the new couple: Malfoy and his mystery girl. But when Harry saw the new girl, he knew he had been very stupid to think of her as another Pansy, for this girl was gorgeous. With her dark brown hair, pale complexion, and eyes that were the iciest blue he had ever seen, Harry thought she was the prettiest girl in the world.

He must have been staring, for she gave him a little smile, arched her eyebrows, and continued walking down the hallway with Malfoy. Harry looked around and noticed that he wasn't the only one who'd been staring; every guy in the hallway was looking at the retreating form of the mystery girl. As soon as she was out of sight everyone began talking at once. Harry heard things like, "I heard he met her in America!" and "She's a Goddess! No human could possibly be _that_ hot." But the only piece of straight information he got was that her name was Melody.

"Melody…" Ron said as he pondered the things Harry had told him. "It fits her." was the only thing he said.

"Not really," said Hermione. "A melody is a sweet, soft tune, and sweet and soft almost always don't describe Malfoy's friends."

"But she seemed…different." Harry said for a lack of a better word.

"Well, maybe you lot shouldn't judge people before you know them," Ginny smiled as she slid the door closed and sat next to Hermione.

"Then that's what we need to do. Find out more about her." said Ron.

"Good idea," Harry agreed, even though he had been planning to do that no matter what the others said.

-----------------------------------------------------

Melody had never seen so much food; ever. Giant mounds of roast beef, chocolate fountains, and towers made of pudding. And the castle—! Just the Great Hall alone took her breath away; she couldn't even begin to think what the rest of Hogwarts looked like.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" said a voice from behind her. Melody spun around to see a handsome boy with dark skin, black hair, and gorgeous eyes that could make any girl's heart melt. "But certainly but certainly not as beautiful as you." he flashed her a grin.

"Who're you?" she asked him.

"Allow me to introduce myself; Blaise Zambini, at your service." he kissed her hand. "Now, if you don't mind me asking, how did a pretty lady like you end up with a git like Draco?"

"What'd you mean?" Melody laughed at the confused look on his face. "Draco's my brother!"

"Really? Well, in that case"—he hooked his arm around her—"may I accompany you to the Slytherin table then?"

"You may," Melody said as she walked with him to the table and took her seat next to Draco, Blaise on her right side.

"What's this Blaise? She's been here for an hour and you're hitting on her _already_? Obviously not much luck with the Italian girls this summer, huh?" Draco smirked, and Melody hit him in the arm.

"Not any as pretty as this one," Blaise tugged on a piece of her hair and she laughed.

"Now Blaise," Draco warned "Don't make me hurt you on the first day of school. It'll rather put a damper on my evening."

Melody laughed; and Blaise pouted, then started flirting with Melody again.

--------------------------------------------

Girls made no sense.

There was really no other way to explain what Harry saw. If Melody and Malfoy were going out, why was she flirting with Zambini RIGHT IN FRONT OF MALFOY! And he wasn't even bothered by it! The events of dinner still swimming in his head, he got up from his place on the couch and made his way over to where Hermione and Ron were talking by the fire.

"Harry!" Hermione said as he sat down opposite from her. "I found out that Malfoy isn't going out with Melody. She's his half sister. He's not going out with anyone." The common room was empty, having left before dinner was over.

"Really? Well, that explains what happened at dinner," he mumbled.

"Annnnd," Ron said, stretching out the word to make sure Harry was paying attention. "Neither is she."

Harry's head jerked up so suddenly Hermione couldn't help give a snort of laughter. Harry put his head down again.

"So…? Are you gonna get to know her better or what?" Ron asked teasingly.

"Maybe." was the only response he gave them.

-----------------

Ginny had heard everything. And to tell you the truth, it didn't really bother her that Harry liked Melody. In fact, she was kind of glad that he was over her. Harry had been really nice and all, but Heroes just weren't her type. (A.N: unless it's Batman! Don't even try and argue the fact that Batman is the best super hero EVER, because you can't.) Especially ones who think they have to do everything on their own. No, she can't deny the fact that he was a classical hero—an ass—but at least now she only likes him as a friend.

As Ginny was thinking all of this, she had her head down not paying the slightest attention to where she was going; the halls were empty anyways, it was dinner time.

Apparently, this is what the girl walking just a bit ahead of her thought, as she wasn't paying attention either, causing both of them to smack into each other sending papers and books flying in the process.

Ginny mumbled a "sorry" as she went around picking up all of her things, only looking up at the girl when she handed Ginny the book she had dropped.

"Here, this must be yours," she said in a sweet, elegant voice.

When Ginny saw her she gasped; it was Melody, Malfoy's sister. She quickly recovered. "Uh, thanks."

"No problem," she smiled, then extended her hand. "Melody Malfoy."

"Ginny Weasley," she said shaking the girls hand cautiously, as if she expected something bad to happen.

Just then Luna Lovegood came skipping down the hallway, looking for Ginny. She stopped skipping when she was in front of them and sat down cross legged on the floor.

Melody looked at Ginny, who shrugged. So she joined Luna on the floor, followed by Ginny.

"Luna Lovegood, right? Melody Malfoy, pleased to meet you," she beamed extending her hand.

As Luna shook her hand she raised her eyebrow at Ginny, who gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head.

"So Ginny," Luna asked turning towards her, "how was your summer?"

"Good, we didn't have to stay at Sirius's house this time so I got to stay at the burrow.

"What's it like?" Melody asked, eyes twinkling with wonder.

"What, the burrow? Well, it's small, crowded, and…homely, you could say. Why do you ask?" Ginny questioned.

"Well, all my life, when I was living with my father, I always pictured myself living in a little house in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by the sea. Your 'burrow' just kind of reminded me of that." she shrugged.

Luna looked at her watch. "Dinner will be over soon. We should start heading to our dorms." she said as she stood up, the rest of them following.

"Well, it was nice meeting both of you!" She flashed them a brilliant smile, then headed off in the direction of the Slytherin common room.

Once she was gone, Luna said "she's nice." at the same time Ginny said "that was weird."

-----------------------

End of chapter three.

So that's it! Sorry it took so long for me to get this up; I promise I'll be faster with the next chapter.

Question Time!:

How many of you have seen The Dark Knight? The ending to that movie was _awesome._ I will watch it over and over, and still I never get sick of it. Christopher Nolan is a freaking _GOD,_ and my hero. I wanna be a movie director someday, and he is totally my role model. So, opinions, facts, sneak peeks, anything about this movie your welcome to say.


	4. Encounters

Hero: From Enemy Blood

Chapter 4

Hey guys. I'm _so sorry_ it took me this long. I completely forgot about this actually. But I've got some interesting ideas so why not continue it? I know a lot of people having been asking me lately. I know everyone is going to complain about how OOC Draco is in this chapter, but you have to understand that that's kind of what I'm going for. Having a sister, loving her as much as he does, it's changed him. He knows what it's like to care about something other than his father's approval. So don't complain. Thanksssss. OH. Also, I wrote the beginning when I was, like, two. Which is why I spelled everyone's name wrong. I look like a disgrace to the Harry Potter fandom, and I sincerely apologize.

So here we go…

Ginny drummed her fingers on the table, working out the complicated potions formula in her head. Potions was one thing Ginny was good at. _Really _good at, actually. She didn't even mind Snape. He was a skilled potions master, and a good teacher if you paid close enough attention. That's the reason she was in seventh year potions, and first in her class. Which is why couldn't believe Snape assigned them to make a Dreamless Sleep Draught. It was the easiest potion in their book! Ginny sighed as she started the crush sprigs of lavender in the mortar.

Ten minutes later her finished potion sat in her glass vial, the purple liquid topped off with a cork. She started the drum her fingers on the table again as she watched the other students struggle with the simple potion.

"Nicely done, Miss Weasley," Snape said, nodded his head in respect. "I know this is easy for you. But don't worry, your next assignment will be much, _much_, more difficult," he smirked, a dangerous twinkle in his eye. She gulped, but didn't back down.

"Looking forward to it, Professor," she said, mustering up a smirk of her own. He tried to hide his grin as he walked toward the front of the room.

"Time's up, wands down," he stated emotionlessly. Most of the students groaned, except the two Malfoy's at the desk beside hers. Next to her, Hermione huffed loudly, looking at her pink potion. "I don't know why it always turns out pink!" she whined.

"If your lavender isn't crushed fine enough, it won't turn purple," Ginny pointed out.

"Whatever," she huffed. Ginny chuckled at her friend's bitter attitude. Her skin started to prickle like someone was staring at her, and she looked around for the source only to connect with Draco Malfoy silvery grey eyes.

He looked at her strangely and her stomach fluttered lightly. She quickly broke the contact.

"What?" she hissed at him.

His eyebrows rose, and he smirked slightly before turning his attention back to Snape.

"Your next assignment is a partner project. _I _will choose, so do not ask me," he stated as Daphne Greengrass's hand shot up in the air. She quickly put it down. "I will give you an unidentified poison. Your assignment is to identify the poison and create the proper antidote." He flicked his wand and fourteen brightly colored potions lined up on the front desk. "Hermione Granger and Seamus Finnigan, Blaise Zabini and Melody Malfoy, Daphne Greengrass and Dean Thomas, Ginny Weasley and Draco Malfoy…"

Ginny stopped listening when she heard her name. Along with Draco Malfoy.

_Fuck._

"We have to pick a potion."

She jumped, not seeing him approach. "What?"

"Snape said we have to pick a potion?" he replied, crinkling his brows at her question.

"Oh. Right. How about that white one?" It wasn't white, exactly. More like a pearl color, with flecks of pink and gold in it.

"You're choice," he said not unkindly. It was weird. While he wasn't really being friendly, he wasn't being a twat either.

"Okay. The white one then," she said as she grabbed it off the table and labeled it with their initials.

"Hello Ginny," Melody said as she came to stand by her brother, flashing me a brilliant smile.

"Hi, Melody. How are you?" Ginny asked sort of awkwardly. Nice Malfoy's were so strange.

Her smile wavered slightly, but she replaced it so quickly Ginny wondered if she imagined it. "I'm well, thank you. Draco, I have to stop by the Ravenclaw dorm on our way back. Michael has my transfiguration book."

"Corner?" Draco asked, his voice hard. "Why were you hanging out with him?"

Melody laughed, a soft twinkling sound. "Don't be so protective, Draco. I accidentally turned his book into a cat and it ran away, so I let him borrow mine."

"Oh. Well. Yes then," Draco smiled at her—and actually smile!—and tugged a strand of her hair. "Flirt."

"Am not!" she stomped her foot playfully. "Bye Ginny!" she called over her shoulder as her and Malfoy left the classroom.

What. The. Fuck.

Shaking her head, Ginny grabbed her things and headed to the common room for a well-needed nap.

"Miss Weasley, may I speak to you for a moment?" Snape asked.

_Damnit. _

"Yes, Professor?"

"I have a favor to ask of you. I will award you with house points and…extra credit," he said, grimacing as the words came out.

"What would I have to do?" she asked, eying him suspiciously.

"One of my students has need of an extremely strong Dreamless Sleep Draught. I can help you with the formula, but I'm incredibly busy with an assignment Dumbledore has given me. As you're one of the best potions students I have, I'm entrusting you with this."

"But…I mean. Really? Me?" she asked.

"Yes, Miss Weasley."

"Well, I guess I don't really have a choice, do I?" she asked, shaking her head. "Who's it for?"

"That's not for me to say."

"Then I guess it's not for me to make," she countered, smirk back in place.

Ginny never failed to surprise him. He suppressed his laughter for the second time that day, and instead raised his eyebrows. "Mr. Malfoy requested it for his sister."

"Malfoy?" Ginny's eyes snapped up and the mention of his name, which didn't go unnoticed by Snape.

"Yes. Will this be a problem?"

"No, sir. I'll start on it right away."

"Thank you. That will be all, Miss Weasley."

"Right," she mumbled as she walked out the door, needing that nap now more than ever. But it was hard to sleep with Malfoy's smile dancing behind her eyelids.

Draco drummed his fingers on the table, deep in thought as Melody came up behind him.

"Dracooo!" she sang out, causing him to jump. She laughed. "Jumpy today, brother dearest?"

"No! Just thinking," he defended half-heartedly, back to drumming his fingers again. He remembered Ginny—_Weasley! Not Ginny!—_doing the same thing this morning and he stopped immediately. He caught a glimpse of Melody's hand as her nails changed from blue to a sort of burnt orange.

"What's wrong with your hand?" he asked as he grabbed it from the table to inspect it.

"Oh, the nail thing?" she asked, looking at her nails. "It was a spell I did when I was younger. The color changes to match my mood."

"Oh. So what's orange?"

She laughed. "Probably suspicious."

"May I ask _why_ you're suspicious…?"

"Nope."

"Please?"

"Okay, fine."

"Really?"

"Nope."

"Melody!" Draco exclaimed. "Come on, tell me."

"Fine! But you wont like it," Melody said as she rose from the table and stretched, arching her back like a cat.

"I think I can handle it," Draco said, rolling his eyes.

"You like her, don't you?" Melody smirked. _Yep,_ he thought. _Definitely a Malfoy. _

"Who are you talking…" he trailed off as her smirk grew bigger and she raised an eyebrow. "Are you accusing me of having a crush on Ginny Weasley? Ginny _bloody_ Weasley?" he asked incredulously.

"Yep." She nodded.

"What…why? What could possibly lead you to believe that?"

"I think you need to brush up on your Occlumency, brother."

"You read my mind?" he glared, trying his hardest to be mad at her but failing miserably.

"Not really. I'm just so practiced at it that sometimes I pick up on things without meaning to," she shrugged, and his anger ebbed away. Melody smiled at him. "She's pretty, isn't she?"

He thought about her warm, chocolate eyes, full lips, and curvy body with crimson red hair to top it all off. _She certainly doesn't look like her brother. _"Not really."

"Liar."

"Shut up."

Luna Lovegood was _not_ an idiot. A bit on the odd side, she'll admit, but not an idiot, even if her housemates seemed to disagree.

She puffed out her breath and picked up the pace of her midnight run. It was her one moment of solitude, her one chance to get away from all the people and the bullshit. The fake, airhead act she put on was exhausting. It was really only Ginny that knew the really Luna.

Faking her personality was Luna's first line of defense. Because honestly, who'd want to fuck with Loony Lovegood? Honestly, it didn't work all that well, anyway; but it was too late to turn back now. She was thinking of just dropping it, simply because she was so past caring.

Which is why when she rounded the corner and ran straight into Blaise Zabini, instead of acting innocent and stupid, she shouted, "What the _fuck_, Zabini!"

He looked surprised, his gorgeous face wearing a shocked expression. He took in her appearance of tiny shorts, an athletic tank top, and running shoes and a light blush crept across her cheeks. Some of her hair was falling out of its sloppy bun and she pushed it out of her face.

"Sorry, Lovegood. I didn't see you," he said, confused but sincere as he stomped out his cigarette. She didn't care how he got those onto school grounds, but she wanted one.

Before Luna's mother died, they had lived right at the heart of London. Even though they were pureblood, her mother's sister suffered from some kind of magical sickness that made her a sort of temporary squib. They moved with her into London to be closer to the wizard doctors that were trying to cure her. Luna's mother tried curing her as well. Experimented with a lot of different potions and spells until one day something went wrong and she was caught in an explosion. When the treatments didn't work, her aunt went into something they called an emotional comma, brought on by extreme boughts of depression after losing her magic, and her sister. Luna's father, overcome with grief, moved them to the countryside and cared for her as best he could. But she was unable to kick her city habits and continued smoking, much to her father's displeasure.

"Can I have one?" she pleaded, looking at the discarded cigarette longingly.

"You smoke?" he asked suspiciously.

"It's a city thing. Old habits die hard, I guess," she shrugged, uncomfortable under his scrutinizing gaze.

"I thought you lived in the country?" he inquired as he took out a pack of cigarettes and handed her one. Ignoring his question, she quickly lit it with her wand and took a long drag, sighing happily as she let it out. The smoke rings drifted upward and quickly faded into the night sky.

"You are not at all how I thought you'd be." Blaise said.

Luna finished her cigarette and stomped it out. "Most people aren't. Thanks for the smoke," she said, squeezing his arm in gratitude before picking up her run where she left off.

"Not bad for a smoker," Blaise mumbled to himself, shaking his head as he watched the strange girl with surprisingly great legs sprint around the corner and disappear from sight.

She was running down a long road. That's all she knew, just that road. It seemed endless. Her lungs burned and her muscles ached, but she couldn't stop. The lightning was getting closer, each strike making her hair stand on end. She had to get away. She had to.

Out of nowhere, her mother was standing there. Not Narcissa, but her mother Bella. The one who'd taken care of her, protected her…

Died for her.

She was reaching her hand out towards her, silently begging her to hold on, to save her. Melody reached her hand out as well, intended to take hold and never let go as the lighting faded away. But then _he_ showed up, pulling Bella back dragging her by her ankles, back toward the impending storm. She tried to scream for him to stop, but the burning in her lungs intensified, and the words wouldn't come out. Desperation took hold in her chest, and she choked back the sob rising in her throat. The lighting was getting closer now, the electricity in the air rattling her bones and making her shake in fear. This was her fault; all of it was her fault…

Gasping, Melody sat up in bed, hitting her head on the wooden boards of the bed frame.

"Fuck!" she shouted, holding her forehead in pain. She heard the door open and feet padding over to her bed.

"Melody?" Draco called, peeking his head in. He looked at her, concerned. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"I just woke up and hit my head, really…" she tried to lie, but tears started to form in her eyes and she hung her head so he wouldn't see.

"Oh, love, please don't cry," he said, sliding onto the bed and taking her into his arms. "It wasn't your fault, do you hear me? Whatever it was, it wasn't your fault."

Draco was the only one who knew about her nightmares, which is why he requested his sister to stay in his prefect room until Snape could make her a powerful enough dreamless sleep draught. Surprisingly, he said he was going to ask Ginny to help with this for extra credit or something. Not that she needed it, but Melody was grateful anyway.

"Come on, let's get you some tea with a calm draught in it," he said, pulling her off the bed and guiding her to the door that leads to the castle kitchens. "Being the sister of a prefect has its perks, doesn't it?" he asked gently.

Melody laughed slightly at her brother's words, pushing the door to the kitchen open only to find a crying Ginny being comforted by Luna Lovegood. They looked up when she came in, clearly not excited to see them.

"Draco, leave us." Melody walked toward the kitchen and grabbed a calming draught out of the cabinet her brother stocked with the potion.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" he asked her, eying the two girls warily.

Melody gave him a small smile. "Yes, I'll be fine. Thank you, Draco."

He nodded and left the room, giving Melody another glance over his shoulder before closing the door.

As soon as he was gone from sight Melody dropped what she was doing and strode over to Ginny's other side.

"Are you okay?"

She hesitated, looking at Melody. For the first time, she seemed the notice her red, swollen eyes and the tear tracks clearly marked on her face. "Nightmares," Ginny sighed. "I've had them since my first year. After the whole…you know."

"I don't, actually. But you don't have to tell me. It's none of my business." Melody said, pouring the calming draught into a mug and filling it with mint tea. "Here, this will help. It's what Draco gives me for my nightmares."

"You have them too?" she asked, greedily gulping down the potion.

"Yes. My childhood was rather unpleasant," she said lightly, pouring out another potion for herself.

"You don't have to tell me. It's none of my business," Luna mimicked good-naturedly, and Melody laughed.

"Do you have nightmares too, Luna?" Melody asked.

"No, I don't sleep. Insomnia is what they called it. It runs in the family." She shrugged. "I don't mind it though. I get a lot of time to myself."

Melody sat up straight after a few moments of comfortable silence. "We should meet here next time any of us needs a little company after a long night. I don't know about you, Ginny, but this was really comforting. I love my brother and all, but I don't have very many close girl friends." She said sadly.

"Me either, really. Just Ginny," Luna said.

"That sounds nice, Melody." Ginny gave her a small smile.

"Oh! We can use this," she said excitingly, rolling up her sleeve. For one horrified minute, Ginny thought she was going to show them her dark mark, but—thankfully—her skin was clear. Instead she took off a bracelet, woven with silver, green, and black string. She whispered an incantation into and it split into three, each one in their house colors. "This way we can keep in touch. It'll glow when one of us needs each other," she smiled, looking at her bracelet. "It's good, no?"

"Melody, it's brilliant!" Ginny said as she tied her bracelet, tightening it with her teeth.

"They're very beautiful," Luna said, looking at her bracelet.

"My mother—the one who raised me—made me this when I was very little. I've kept it ever since." She stood up, gathering her things and placing them in the sink. "It was very nice meeting you guys here." As she was about to open the door, Ginny spoke.

"Melody?" she hesitated biting her lip. "Do you want to know what happened my first year here?"

Melody sat back down and faced her, giving Ginny her undivided attention.

They talked for what seemed like hours, about everything. Their struggles, their triumphs; just getting to know each other.

The guilt from lying to them about everything was almost too much for Melody to bear.

So there we are. It's a little rough, but I'm just warming up. I promise it'll get so much better. :)

Thanks for everyone's continued support and I hope this finds you all well. Reviewwwww!


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